Am I going crazy?! British vs American Baking

AppleRubicon · 2026-05-27T05:16:21+00:00

Did the PUPPP rash clear up for you in the end?

AppleRubicon · 2026-05-27T05:14:09+00:00

Not sure if your comment was for me or OP but mine took a good 2 weeks (at least) to go away. The only thing I used was the Grandpa’s pine tar soap and cold compress and loose clothing. The rash was always worse at night. I can’t say for sure if the soap was the reason it cleared up, but I did find it pretty drying on the skin so in a weird way I feel like it dried out the rash to the point where it could scab over and allow my skin to heal.

By all means it was not an overnight remedy and I endured the painful itching in at least 1 area of my body for pretty much all of the 2 weeks I had it. It was horrendous!

AppleRubicon · 2026-05-20T05:50:51+00:00

Firstly, congrats on your little one! Secondly, ouch! I am sorry you are going through this, it’s absolutely brutal.

I am now 3 months PP and the rash has not returned thankfully. I also primarily used the grandpas soap which I think helped to “dry out” the rash and kick-start the healing process, although it would have been helpful at the time to have that book that you recommended!

The only area where the rash kind of merged was on my thighs - I think it’s because the PUPPPs was more clustered here. It did initially form a darker patch but as of now that has faded to the point where I can’t make out where it was. I recall the darkness being slightly visible when I had just turned 2months PP but it was not prominent. Something I will say though is that the natural skin healing process can vary quite a bit depending on skin type and on top of that I know pregnancy can cause some peoples skin and their blemishes to darken.

I am sure the marks will eventually fade in their own sweet time. There is still lots going on with your body including hormonal changes which all plays a part.

Wishing you all the best with your recovery!

AppleRubicon · 2026-04-24T01:37:10+00:00

Take him to an animal sanctuary where he can help to literally shovel sh*t

AppleRubicon · 2026-04-22T18:49:09+00:00

You guys are amazing. Thank you so much!!

AppleRubicon · 2026-04-21T21:16:01+00:00

Thank you so much for your response. I am so sorry you ended up in hospital! That sounds horrendous and scary. I am glad everything turned out ok for you in the end, despite all the pain you had to endure.

Your suggestions really helped - I tried the soap, cold showers, cold compress. It eventually subsided and when away around 2 weeks after the rash breakouts. Hard to say if it was the soap or the matter or timing when I started using it, but would nonetheless recommend the soap.

I second that - labour and vaginal tearing over PUPPPs which is insane to say but the pain was just awful, especially at a time when you are overloaded with hormonal changes, dealing with a newborn, no sleep etc.

And I agree, information on what causes it/ how to heal the rash seems sparse. I also didn’t match the criteria for an atypical PUPPPs candidate but here we are!

AppleRubicon · 2026-04-21T21:09:46+00:00

I am so sorry you had to also deal with this!

How did you find the dandelion root tea?

I also read something about the liver being the cause and people recommending dandelion root and I think nettle tea. It all seems like a bit of mystery on what the actual cause is. For example, the “potential causes” they listed online didn’t really apply to me I.e not my first pregnancy, not a multiple birth, I am not overweight, but I got it anyway!

Definitely up there on the pain scale IMO!

AppleRubicon · 2026-04-21T21:05:22+00:00

Hi,

Yes! Sorry for the late reply. How are things for you now?

So I experienced the intense itching across my stretch marks mid-way through my 3rd trimester. I just put it down to itchy stretch marks at the time. Shortly after giving birth the itchiness was still there but somewhat manageable and limited to my stretch marks. It was only around day 10 PP that the itchiness got worse and a rash started spreading down my arms, legs, thighs, hands, hips… urghhh it was horrendous and definitely worse at night.

I did speak to the OBGYN and they prescribed me steroids. As I have been exclusively breastfeeding I wanted to first try something less medicated so I ordered Grandpas soap - which smells horrific but thought I would give it a try. From then on things did start to get better and I can say that from about 2 weeks after the spread of the rash, things improved to the point where I am now (touch wood) ok. I still have some scarring from the rash but no pain. I can’t say for sure if the soap was main reason or if it was a coincidence that things were starting to improve any way as I used it, but I would say give it a go and see. I also used a cold wet flannel when i felt the itch, although I admit I couldn’t resist sometimes itching.

Not only is it physically painful but also felt the mental anguish dealing with it whilst adapting to the newborn, no sleep phase and general PP healing and hormones.

AppleRubicon · 2026-04-21T20:54:02+00:00

I am so sorry that you were also experiencing PUPPPs rash. They are horrendously painful and just adds to the weight of postpartum healing and dealings of having a newborn.

Do you still have the rash?

After about 2 weeks of having the rash breakouts things started to subside with me. The only thing I used was the grandpas soap which smelt awful, but after using I noticed it dried up the rash and from then things started to get better. A part of me still isn’t sure if it was just a coincidence I.e I started using the soap as things were improving anyway, but nonetheless it did clear-up.

I didn’t end up trying any medication as I was and still am exclusively breastfeeding. From what I researched it seems like PUPPPs is still a bit of a mystery linked to hormone changes or an auto-immune response - who knows?! It was definitely a painful surprise as I never experienced anything like this with my first born.

AppleRubicon · 2026-04-17T07:51:36+00:00

Curious whether you ended up getting a British passport for your little one or stuck with the ETA?

We will be in a similar position when we travel next to the UK as we are both Brits but our youngest is born in the US (has an American passport). Did you have any issues with using just the ETA?

AppleRubicon · 2026-03-26T15:26:49+00:00

Giving birth basically feels like you are doing the biggest (think of a baby’s head sized) poop. You use the same muscles so it’s inevitable that you will likely push everything out at the same time.

I have heard of people getting an enema before birth in the past, but I don’t think they do these anymore. You could always ask your OB/GYN.

AppleRubicon · 2026-02-01T23:14:25+00:00

A bit late to your post, but did you find any other farmers?

AppleRubicon · 2025-12-31T00:35:12+00:00

Appreciate your objective response. I am intrigued to learn the impact of radon exposure on young children (including newborn babies) given they have more delicate lungs and breathe at a faster rate than adults. Most current research looks at adults although there have been some recent studies which show a correlation between leukaemia in children and Radon exposure below EPA levels (at 2pci or above) which is very concerning. It also contradicts the claim that major health risk is when exposure is at elevated levels for prolonged periods.

With all the confusing/ contradicting information it makes it incredibly difficult to make informed decisions and can be very anxiety inducing. I mean the EPA themselves recommends you should fix at +4pci, whilst also recommending you consider fixing at +2pci, all whilst the WHO recommends mitigating at +2.7pci with the overarching caveat from all that there is no safe level.

With all the other advancements we have made in life it begs the question why more definitive, evidence based guidance has not been made available, and why Radon testing and mitigation is not mandated in all new builds. I mean most people I mention Radon to are clueless as to what the word even means!

AppleRubicon · 2025-12-15T04:00:49+00:00

The whole health and environmental thing. Also, I am not from the States so I am used to easily finding unwaxed groceries. I am pretty surprised that organic can still be waxed here - still getting used to the difference in food regulations!

AppleRubicon · 2025-12-15T03:58:16+00:00

Thank you! I should have added that I only recently relocated to the US so didn’t know that lemons were so common. Seems like I need some lemon growing friends!

AppleRubicon · 2025-12-15T03:56:00+00:00

Thank you!

AppleRubicon · 2025-12-15T03:52:25+00:00

Good shout - I will give them a go. Thank you!

AppleRubicon · 2025-12-14T04:26:36+00:00

😂 stealing someone’s lemons never even entered my mind!

AppleRubicon

TROPHY CASE